Arne Pander

[lucifer sam]

RIP to Arne Pander, the original Great Dane, and one of the true superstars of Oxford Speedway.

 

All the best

Rob

[E I Addio]

Sad to hear that. Never saw him ride but his was one of the reputations I used to hear about when my interest in the sport was getting started.

[iris123]

Very sad to hear,but I would say Morian Hansen was the original.

[van wolfswinkel]

R.I.P.... saw Arne ride for Oxford at Swindon in the 60s.

[The White Knight]

R.I.P. + Arne.

 

I never saw him ride sadly.

[customhouseregular]

It's a sad fact but the R.I.P.'s are becoming more frequent. I only saw Arne ride in a couple of West Ham v Oxford meetings and if I remember correctly, he was the only Dane riding in Britain at that time. I may be wrong though.

 

R.I.P. Arne Pander.

[lucifer sam]

Very sad to hear,but I would say Morian Hansen was the original.

 

Cheers Iris, Morian Hansen had popped out of my head when I posted.

 

Arne Pander was still Oxford's original Danish superstar - in fact, he was Oxford's first world class superstar, full stop.

 

All the best

Rob

[lucifer sam]

OXFORD CHEETAHS’ legend Arne Pander has died at the age of 83.

 

The Dane rode for the Cheetahs between 1959 and 1968, and became the first World Class superstar to ride for the club.

 

Born in Herning, Denmark in 1931, Pander won the Danish Championship in 1956 and 1958, before joining the Cheetahs in 1959. It was considered a risky signing, since Danish riders did not have any kind of pedigree at that time.

 

He made a sensational debut for the club on Good Friday, March 27, 1959, dropping just a single point to the opposition, as the Cheetahs thrashed Coventry Bees by 53-37.

 

By the end of the season, Pander had established himself as Oxford’s leading rider.

 

Inspired by the Dane, who had the beating of all the world’s top riders, the Cheetahs were surprising National League contenders in 1960, before having to settle for third place in the table, behind the mighty duo of Wimbledon and Belle Vue (Manchester).

 

Pander was just one stage away from reaching the 1961 World Final, when he suffered a fractured skull at Coventry on July 29, 1961. He scored a brilliant 15-point maximum for Oxford at Brandon (half the team’s total), but was then involved in an accident with Coventry ‘hard man’ Les Owen in the second half individual event.

 

Pander survived the accident, and returned to action with Oxford in 1963, after 18 months out of the saddle.

 

In 1964, new promoters Cyril Melville and Rodney Rycroft took over at Cowley. They brought in Ron How and Jimmy Gooch; these two, along with Pander, formed the heat-leader trio of the Cheetahs, who swept to a glorious treble, including the National League championship.

 

1965 saw the formation of the British League. Former rider Danny Dunton (who died earlier in 2015) became the promoter, after Melville & Rycroft left, leaving a trail of debt behind them. Pander, who was retained along with How and Gooch, had a brilliant season, ending the year with a string of maximums and registering a 10.03 average.

 

Pander remained the leading light with the Cheetahs in 1966 and 1967, although his ’67 season was cut short with a broken leg.

 

Further injures blighted him in 1968, and he left Oxford during the season. He rode for Poole later in 1968 and Halifax in 1969, but suffered further with injuries, which prompted his retirement. He made just a handful of appearances for the Pirates and Dukes, having spent the vast majority of his British career with the Cheetahs.

 

Arne Pander is considered one of the very best speedway riders never to reach a World Final. A combination of injures, plus a dispute with the Danish authorities which led to him riding in his latter seasons under a British licence, prevented him from reaching the big night.

 

Nevertheless, his place in the history of Oxford Speedway is assured. He joined Oxford in their third season of top-flight action, and became the first Cheetah who could consistently mix it with the biggest names of the sport, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Ronnie Moore and Peter Craven.

 

Apart from 1960, 1964 and 1965, Pander often rode in poor Oxford teams, and ended up carrying the side in many meetings.

 

Long-time Oxford supporter Cliff Peasley said: “Arne Pander was our first world class rider, who could beat anyone. If he hadn’t suffered that fractured skull at Coventry in 1961, I’m convinced he would have been World Champion. He was simply brilliant before that injury. He was still good enough after that to be our top rider.

 

“The Swindon fans used to hate him, because every time we travelled to Wiltshire, he would return with a maximum. He was almost unbeatable around there when he was at his best.

 

“We had some pretty poor teams at times, and sometimes Arne would score more than half of the team total. For ten years, he was Oxford Speedway.

 

“When Hans Nielsen, another Dane, came along in the 1980s, he surpassed Arne as our greatest rider. But Arne was our very first superstar, and that will never change.”

 

Pander’s latter years are largely undocumented, but he stayed in England, living around the Norfolk area.

 

To Oxford Cheetahs’ fans, he will always remain a hero.

[The White Knight]

OXFORD CHEETAHS’ legend Arne Pander has died at the age of 83.

 

The Dane rode for the Cheetahs between 1959 and 1968, and became the first World Class superstar to ride for the club.

 

Born in Herning, Denmark in 1931, Pander won the Danish Championship in 1956 and 1958, before joining the Cheetahs in 1959. It was considered a risky signing, since Danish riders did not have any kind of pedigree at that time.

 

He made a sensational debut for the club on Good Friday, March 27, 1959, dropping just a single point to the opposition, as the Cheetahs thrashed Coventry Bees by 53-37.

 

By the end of the season, Pander had established himself as Oxford’s leading rider.

 

Inspired by the Dane, who had the beating of all the world’s top riders, the Cheetahs were surprising National League contenders in 1960, before having to settle for third place in the table, behind the mighty duo of Wimbledon and Belle Vue (Manchester).

 

Pander was just one stage away from reaching the 1961 World Final, when he suffered a fractured skull at Coventry on July 29, 1961. He scored a brilliant 15-point maximum for Oxford at Brandon (half the team’s total), but was then involved in an accident with Coventry ‘hard man’ Les Owen in the second half individual event.

 

Pander survived the accident, and returned to action with Oxford in 1963, after 18 months out of the saddle.

 

In 1964, new promoters Cyril Melville and Rodney Rycroft took over at Cowley. They brought in Ron How and Jimmy Gooch; these two, along with Pander, formed the heat-leader trio of the Cheetahs, who swept to a glorious treble, including the National League championship.

 

1965 saw the formation of the British League. Former rider Danny Dunton (who died earlier in 2015) became the promoter, after Melville & Rycroft left, leaving a trail of debt behind them. Pander, who was retained along with How and Gooch, had a brilliant season, ending the year with a string of maximums and registering a 10.03 average.

 

Pander remained the leading light with the Cheetahs in 1966 and 1967, although his ’67 season was cut short with a broken leg.

 

Further injures blighted him in 1968, and he left Oxford during the season. He rode for Poole later in 1968 and Halifax in 1969, but suffered further with injuries, which prompted his retirement. He made just a handful of appearances for the Pirates and Dukes, having spent the vast majority of his British career with the Cheetahs.

 

Arne Pander is considered one of the very best speedway riders never to reach a World Final. A combination of injures, plus a dispute with the Danish authorities which led to him riding in his latter seasons under a British licence, prevented him from reaching the big night.

 

Nevertheless, his place in the history of Oxford Speedway is assured. He joined Oxford in their third season of top-flight action, and became the first Cheetah who could consistently mix it with the biggest names of the sport, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ove Fundin, Barry Briggs, Ronnie Moore and Peter Craven.

 

Apart from 1960, 1964 and 1965, Pander often rode in poor Oxford teams, and ended up carrying the side in many meetings.

 

Long-time Oxford supporter Cliff Peasley said: “Arne Pander was our first world class rider, who could beat anyone. If he hadn’t suffered that fractured skull at Coventry in 1961, I’m convinced he would have been World Champion. He was simply brilliant before that injury. He was still good enough after that to be our top rider.

 

“The Swindon fans used to hate him, because every time we travelled to Wiltshire, he would return with a maximum. He was almost unbeatable around there when he was at his best.

 

“We had some pretty poor teams at times, and sometimes Arne would score more than half of the team total. For ten years, he was Oxford Speedway.

 

“When Hans Nielsen, another Dane, came along in the 1980s, he surpassed Arne as our greatest rider. But Arne was our very first superstar, and that will never change.”

 

Pander’s latter years are largely undocumented, but he stayed in England, living around the Norfolk area.

 

To Oxford Cheetahs’ fans, he will always remain a hero.

Smashing Tribute LS.

 

Thank you.

 

Ian.

[iris123]

 

Cheers Iris, Morian Hansen had popped out of my head when I posted.

 

Arne Pander was still Oxford's original Danish superstar - in fact, he was Oxford's first world class superstar, full stop.

 

All the best

Rob

I guess it is partly(mainly?) to do with Morians WW2 RAF exploits,but there are an awful lot of Danish links for him including quite rightly on a website for "Great Danes".Strangely for Arne most things are on English sites rather than Danish,but as your excellent article seems to suggest he maybe had his best years in England rather than in his homeland.There are also lots of articles on one of the other early Great Danes,Svend Aage Engström.This is not meant to take anything away from a very good rider.

 

RIP

[OveFundinFan]

Affectionately me and my mates used to call him Andy Pandy. A really good rider as stated.

(for those old enough to remember Andy Pandy)

[BOBBATH]

As CHR says reports of deaths are sadly becoming more prevalent-understandable but still depressing. As I recall Arneseemed a cert for a World Final place one year(can't remember which year though) except for a bad accident. The all conquering 1964 Oxford which won the double sounded amazing- I think the 3 heat leaders were How, Gooch and Arne(now all gone) -but they also had Genz, Geran, and were the others maybe John Bishop, Eddie Reeves. Saw Arne at Newport in the first year of BL in 1965. RIP Arne

[Split]

I'm open to correction Bob but I think Colin Gooddy was also in that 1964 Oxford side.

 

I was fortunate enough to see Arne Pander ride back in the early 60's and in my humble opinion he was a potential world champion.He remained a world class performer even after that fractured skull but was never quite the same rider.

 

So sad to hear of his passing.

[BOBBATH]

Well done Split -you are right Colin "Joe " Gooddy was in the team-there was a piece in the Speedway Star of that era of how many of the teams'

names began with G-Geran, Gooch, Gooddy, Genz. For 1965 of course they broke that great team up- as I recall Gooddy and Geran went to Exeter and Genz to Poole-if they'd kept them together they would have been certs for the first BL Title. Jim Gooch who was my favourite and very popular at my home track of Newport, later joined the Wasps in 1967 and was always a great performer. I think Ron How got injured in 1965 and didn't finish the season retiring permanently-another great!! From earlier posts it was mentioned that the 1964 promoters -Rycroft and Melville- left leaving a trail of debts. What was that about , were the crowds poor despite the winning team??

[Fromafar]

I remember him winning the Scottish Open Championship in 1965 at Old Meadowbank,a very neat and stylish rider.

[norbold]

Well done Split -you are right Colin "Joe " Gooddy was in the team-there was a piece in the Speedway Star of that era of how many of the teams'

names began with G-Geran, Gooch, Gooddy, Genz. For 1965 of course they broke that great team up- as I recall Gooddy and Geran went to Exeter and Genz to Poole-if they'd kept them together they would have been certs for the first BL Title.

Certs? Against West Ham's McKinlay, Harrfeldt, Hunter and Simmons. Not to mention Tony Clarke, Brian Leonard and Reg Trott. Hmmmmm...

[BOBBATH]

Ok o great one-with all due respect I feel I have to retort. Oxford team of 1964 members averages in 1965-if they'd stayed together. Pander 10.6,Gooch 10.6, How 10.4, Gooddy(Exe) 9.9, Genz(Poole) 9.4, Geran (Exe) 9.7. I'd stack 'em up as a team against Ken Mck 11.4, Sverre 11.1 Hunter 9.7, Luckhurst (Wimb) 9.6 Simmo 6.9. Oxford suffered from an awful long tail without the 3 departed e.g. Bishop, Vale, Eddie Reeves. I'd still take Oxford with the 64 team to win 65 BL- both great teams though

[Triple.H.]

Oxford have unlike many other teams never had a poor side though we've had a fair few underachieving ones over the years.

I admit I'm slightly biased with my opinion

hopefully we'll be back again one day to put those dastardly Pirates in their place.

Arne Pander RIP

he used to enjoy a game of darts in my local

[norbold]

While that is true, BOBBATH, it doesn't take account of what happened with either Malcolm Simmons in the second half of 65 or Tony Clarke's arrival.

 

Anyway, I know how to settle this. Let's ask an unbiased and impartial forum member to give us the definitive view.

 

I suggest customehouseregular.

[Penny Cross]

RIP Arne.

 

A classy, fast determined rider who I thoroughly enjoyed watching. Made it look easy.

 

Is there anyone out there with a photo of Arne in Pooles colours?

 

Ive searched my collection, but cant find one.